Local community members are remembering the Rev. Stanley R. Miller, who pastored two churches in Lorain County and worked feverishly as an activist in Cuyahoga County.
Miller, who was in his mid-70s, died early Sept. 9 of cancer in his Cleveland home.
He was surrounded by his wife, Ronnie, and two sons, Stanley Jr. and Steven.
Miller, who stepped down in March as pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church in Lorain and Rust United Methodist Church in Oberlin, was a beloved preacher and activist, as well as the former executive director of the NAACP Cleveland Branch.
He also served as president of the Warrensville Heights City School District and currently was chairperson of the East Cleveland City School District Academic Distress Commission.
In a statement the NAACP Cleveland Branch released Sept. 9, it said the group will cherish the work and impact Miller has made to the community.
“There are no words that can properly express how sorry we are to hear about this tremendous loss,” according to the statement. “We have always admired his passion, resilience and work ethic.
“Stanley was selfless and always giving of his time. He was a bridge between the legacy of Cleveland’s NAACP past and present, and his great knowledge of social activism was captivating.
“Mr. Miller’s legacy will live on and breathe through the next generation of freedom fighters as the Cleveland NAACP continues to ‘Advance Equity Forward.'”
Miller also was a member of the YWCA Anti-Hate Taskforce in Lorain County.
Jeanine Donaldson, executive director of the Elyria YWCA, said she will remember Miller fondly and continue in his mission.
“Stan was an activist and an agitator that was admired, even by people with opposing views,” Donaldson said. “ Rev. Stan’s death is a reminder that in comparison, so much of what we think important is not.
“The challenge before us is to continue on, so that his living shall not not be in vain.”
The Rev. Doug Lewis, district superintendent for the Firelands District of the United Methodist Church, hired Miller to pastor in Lorain and Oberlin.
“(Miller) was an incredible, outstanding man,” Lewis said. “He was a great person and pastor.”
He said Miller went above and beyond the mandate of service.
“He served the community where he was appointed, and he did that faithfully,” Lewis said. “He loved his congregation and invested himself in the communities.”
Twice this year, the Lorain Branch of the NAACP, tapped Miller to speak for its events.
On Jan. 17, the Lorain NAACP held its annual celebratory program for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The theme was “Pulling Together for a Better Tomorrow.”
Those gathered agreed with Miller, who said: “No matter how you look at it, we have a great deal of work to do in this country.”
Miller said he would love to know what King, a dreamer and drum major, would think now about “a perfect storm that we’re facing in this country today.”
The day commemorating him is coming just days after the U.S. Capitol was “attacked, yes, attacked, by white supremacist’s, anarchists and groups of just sick people,” Miller said.
“People who claim they love this country but really don’t have a clue about government and how it works,” Miller said.
Many people believed the election of President Barack Obama introduced a new time in America, a post-racial period, Miller said.
“As an African American man, I saw nothing that looked like a post-racial period and I don’t see it today,” he said. “I did not experience any of President Obama’s eight years where race was not an issue.
“Race is still a significant issue,” with some making it the worst part of society with backlash to Obama.”.
Miller also was keynote speaker at the Lorain NAACP Martin Luther King Jr. Annual Celebratory Program at Wesley.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Sept. 16 with calling hours beginning at 6 p.m. at Calhoun Funeral Home, 2300 Rockside Road in Bedford Heights. Funeral services will be Sept. 17 with a wake at 10 a.m. followed by a service at 11 a.m. at Church of the Saviour, 2537 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights.
